The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) and new owner Darryl Cuttell were determined to make a major splash ahead of the 2025 season. Bringing nitro back to MIR and the President’s Cup Nationals were mere drops in the bucket compared to what would come only 24 hours later.

I am proud to announce that the International Hot Rod Association is purchasing seven legendary racing facilities as of today. This is just the beginning of growing IHRA into a global leader in sports and entertainment. -Darryl Cuttell, IHRA owner

An agreement in principle has been reached to purchase seven tracks in what the IHRA is calling the first phase of a “dynamic strategy to position IHRA as a global leader in sports and entertainment.” The tracks include several that were listed on the 2025 schedule, and were NHRA sanctioned tracks just last year:

• National Trail Raceway (OH)
• Maryland International Raceway (MD)
• Milan Dragway (MI)
• Dragway 42 (OH)
• Darlington Dragway (SC)
• Galot Motorsports Park (NC)
• Kil-Kare Raceway (OH)

Prior to this announcement came the release of the 2025 schedule (just earlier in the day), which seemed to have a very heavy asterisk at the bottom about adding more events.

Buried in the track purchase announcement also came this: “The IHRA has also agreed in principle to purchasing, hosting, and partnering with some of the most successful and popular racing series in the entire world. These events will combine music, entertainment, and All-American family fun!”

It didn’t take long for this vague announcement to become a bit more clear when Jim Howe was appointed National Outlaw Director in a partnership with No Time Kings for a limited-prep, no-time event series at IHRA tracks. Galot, Milan, MIR, Dragway 42, and Steel Alabama are listed as five of the six locations for this year. 

And finally, came the announcement of the IHRA TV digital platform to “bring more live drag racing content to the fans but also feature a diverse lineup of racing series on snow, water, dirt—anywhere you find horsepower and competition.”

What does the next phase of the IHRA’s expansion include? Only time will tell, but they’ve already given us quite a bit to sink our teeth into.

UPDATE 3/11/25: Maryland International Raceway is now the first track to come out and say they have NOT been purchased. We will have more updates in a subsequent story.